Geneva's Blog 4

Sunday, November 3rd, 2019.

11:30 PM

The walk to my sit spot was a pleasant one, as usual. I noticed more orange, red, and yellow leaves than last time I visited. It was a nice, crisp fall day and a perfect day for a walk. I passed by more than a few hikers who were taking advantage of the nice weather. In addition to less green leaves, I noticed that the smaller plants had become drier and that the ground was covered with a little more dead leaves. 

Once I got to my sit spot, I sat down and tuned in. Here are some reflections tuning in:

There was a lone bee weaving in and out of the vegetation near my feet. The sun was doing a good job at illuminating the Earth, everything was golden-toned. The light set the red and orange fall leaves aflame. The wind blew and make the leaves shimmer, enhancing this effect. A small black ant was crawling through the fallen leaves beside where I sat. I could feel the sun warming my legs through my black jeans. Some plants were becoming barren. Grasses were drying out. There were actually quite a few black ants. A couple of people passed me on the trail; I don’t blame them– it’s such a nice day. 

What’s changed since last time I was here?

The ground was still dry, orange, and pebbly. Only a few leaves littered the ground. I didn’t hear many birds, but I did hear insects– crickets, it sounded like. The big bare tree with only a few leaves last time now has lost its leaves and only has gumball-like things still attached. The tropical-looking plants had mostly lost their once red leaves, only the woody skeleton remained. These plants now had these beautiful and interesting red plumes on the end of each branch. I suppose they are seeds. They are vibrantly red and remind me of quinoa. 

The other tree closer to me that I am following throughout the changing of the seasons has lost all of its leaves already. With some of the plants losing a lot of their leaves, you can more easily see the shape of the space in which these plants grow. The space is much deeper than I thought before. The decrease in leaf cover in this area also makes it a lot sunnier since there is less matter to shade the sunlight.

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What is there to hear?

I almost fell asleep while practicing the listening exercise, it was so relaxing. Hearing the crackle and buzzing of the power lines was oddly soothing: it reminds me of the sounds of a fireplace. I heard the crinkle of the dried leaves blowing in the wind, a couple of insects making their assorted noises, and the low hum of an airplane passing overhead. 

The traffic on I-81 seemed much lighter than before, but as always, I could hear the tractor-trailers accelerating down the highway. The sounds that the power lines were making seemed more irregular than usual; more like electronic beeping noises that intensified as the wind blew. I heard a bird that sounded like it was laughing for a few seconds. Other than that, there were not many other bird sounds. 

I focused on this leaf pictured on the left. It was on the trail near my feet. It was small, green, torn, and partially brown. It sounded like someone was shooting a gun nearby. That was disconcerting. The sounds of the insects really made the moment feel more like twilight than midday. I heard the chirp of a bird that immediately reminded me of my grandmother’s house. Very pleasant. A bee approached me and buzzed in my ear for a moment! How lovely! Anyways, the leaf was face-down on the ground in the middle of the trail. It will return to its more simple components soon as it decomposes. Ants crawled on, in, over, under, and around this leaf. 

goodbye- 1:02 PM